Tangled presents: The Little Mermaid
by Tangled4ever
Summary: Basically, the characters from Tangled cast into the roles of 'The Little Mermaid'.
1. Fathoms Below and Concert Catastrophe

**Hello! The title says it all, The Little Mermaid played by Tangled. I hope you like it!**

**IMPORTANT: So everyone knows, not all of the Tangled characters have a role in this fanfic, only the main characters...**

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Chapter 1 ~ Fathoms Below and Concert Catastrophe**

A cool wind blew through the air and puffy grey clouds hovered above the ocean, and a small flock of seagulls cried as they glided on the breeze. They swooped down closer to the sea, above three dolphins who were leaping in the waves. One of the gulls continued to cry as it rested on the ocean's surface, where the dolphins bobbed in the water, yapping happily to each other. The four scattered as a majestic ship broke through the fog, riding on the crashing waves.

"_I'll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue, and it's hey to the starboard heave-ho_," some sailors on board sang merrily as they pulled a heavy net full of fish aboard. "_Look out lad, a mermaid be waiting for you, in mysterious fathoms below_."

A few sailors began to hoist up a sail, with the help of none other than the ruler of the kingdom they called home, Prince Eugene.

"Isn't this great?" Eugene smiled as the wind blew through his dark brown locks. "The salty sea air, the wind blowing in your face."

His faithful grey and white sheepdog Flynn barked cheerfully. Eugene sighed happily and turned to his butler, adviser and friend, Grimsby. "A perfect day to be at sea."

Grimsby stood upright, his face green.

"Oh, yes. Delightful," he replied sarcastically, before leaning back over the edge of the ship and retching.

"A fine strong wind and a following sea," a sailor commented as Eugene ran over to help him with one of the ropes. "King Triton must be in a friendly type mood."

"King Triton?" Eugene asked, a glimmer of curiosity in his chocolate brown eyes.

"Why, he ruler of the Merpeople, lad," another sailor with a bandana tied around his head replied, as he tossed live fish into a barrel. "Thought every good sailor knew about him."

"Merpeople," Grimsby scoffed as made his way towards Eugene, who was kneeling on the wooden deck patting Flynn. "Eugene, pay no attention to this nautical nonsense."

"But it ain't nonsense, it's the truth," the sailor with the bandana around his head argued, holding the fish in his hand up to Grimsby's face. "I'm tellin' ya! Down in the depths of the ocean they live!"

As he finished his sentence, the fish slipped out of his hand, flapped briefly in Grimsby's face, before falling back down into the ocean. The fish swam deeper below the surface, before looking up to where the bottom of the ship cut through the waves and sighing in relief. The fish smiled, and turned to swim towards the kingdom of Atlantica.

* * *

Merfolk from all over Atlantica swam towards the castle, and made their way into the grand concert hall. Merpeople, dolphins, fish and all sorts of other sea creatures flocked into the room taking their seats in front of the stage.

A fanfare of trumpets sounded. A small, orange seahorse named Harold, wearing a purple ruff, swam forward and coughed to clear his throat, before announcing, "His Royal Highness, King Triton!"

A thunderous wave of applause and cheering echoed through the room as King Triton entered, riding in a kind of 'boat', pulled by three elegant dolphins. Triton lifted his golden, magical trident, and used it to light an underwater chandelier.

The seahorse continued, "And presenting, the distinguished court composer, Horatio Felonious Ignacious Crustaceous Maximus!"

A fanfare of kazoos sounded and the assembly clapped as Maximus entered, riding in a cone shell, pulled by two orange fish. The fish whinnied, suddenly swimming faster to try and catch up to King Triton.

"Whoa!" Maximus cried, desperately clinging to the reins of the fish. The fish slowed once beside King Triton.

"I'm really looking forward to this performance, Maximus," Triton smiled.

Maximus let out a hearty chuckle, "Your Majesty! This will be the finest concert I have ever conducted. Your daughters, they will be spectacular!"

The fish whinnied again, almost pulling Maximus out of his shell.

"Yes," Triton replied. "And especially my little Rapunzel."

"Yes, yes," Maximus replied as he managed to get properly back into his cone shell, before jogging the reins. "She has the most beautiful voice. Hmm?"

Once he was out of the King's earshot, he mumbled, "If only she'd show up for rehearsals once in a while."

As the fish pulled Maximus down to his podium, the orchestra tuned up and the audience clapped. Once at his podium, Maximus let go of the fishes' reins and climbed out of the shell, before reaching into it and pulling out a thick music score. Max raised his baton and began waving it in front of him, and the orchestra began playing. Three large clam shells rose onto the stage, which in turn opened to reveal six of the seven daughters of Triton, two in each clam.

"_Ah, we are the daughters of Triton_," they sang sweetly. "_Great father who loves us and named us well_."

One by one, the mermaids swam up from their clam, sang their name and then vocalised afterward.

"_Roberta_," a brown-haired mermaid with a light blue tail and seashell bra sang.

"_Rebecca_," a blonde mermaid with a green tail and seashell bra sang.

"_Rosella_," another blonde mermaid with a red tail and seashell bra sang.

"_Rihanna_," another brunette mermaid with an orange tail and seashell bra sang.

"_Ramona_," a black-haired mermaid with a yellow tail and a green seashell bra sang.

"_Regina_," another black-haired mermaid with a pink tail and violet seashell bra sang.

"_And then there is the youngest in her musical debut_," the six chorused as another large clam rose onto the stage behind them. The mermaids then swam up next to the clam, pointing towards it. "_Our seventh little sister, we're presenting her to you_."

Maximus threw King Triton a quick grin before turning back to the girls as they continued, "_To sing a song Maximus wrote, her voice is like a bell. She's our sister, Rapun-_"

They stopped and everyone in the room gasped when the clam opened, and Rapunzel wasn't there. Maximus's claws flew up to his head, and he turned anxiously to look at Triton.

It was obvious he wasn't happy. An angry look appeared on his face, and he yelled, "RAPUNZEL!"

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Uh-oh! She's in trouble! Please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Sunken Ships and Human Stuff

**Hello again! Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter!**

**Trekrider: Thanks for that! Problem fixed!  
****susan friedman: Glad you think so! :)  
****MrAndersIversen: Thank you for another wonderful review!  
****MyNameIsAlexandraRider: Thank you so much for the advice! I'll do my best to show their personalities better, and I really hope you will keep reading this story!  
****xXxTheDarkShadowsxXx: Thanks for the review! I love Disney too! :)  
****DreamGirll: I'm glad you like it! Hope you like this chapter.  
****Guest: Thank you so much!  
****Guest2: Glad you like it so much!**

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Chapter 2 ~ Sunken Ships and Human Stuff**

Far from Atlantica's palace, a young mermaid swam up to look over the yardarm (I think that's what it's called) of a sunken ship, her hip-length brown hair trailing gracefully in the water around her. She smiled, seeing her target destination.

"Rapunzel, wait for me!" a voice called from behind her.

Rapunzel rolled her eyes slightly and turned to look at her best friend, "Pascal, hurry up!"

The green fish finally managed to catch up to her, and panted, "You know I can't swim that fast."

Rapunzel gasped softly, excitement clear in her beautiful green eyes, and pointed to another sunken ship not too far away, "There it is. Isn't it fantastic?"

"Rapunzel, are you sure about this?" Pascal asked nervously.

"Oh!" Rapunzel groaned quietly and turned to look at him. "You're not getting cold fins now, are you?"

With a flick of her lavender tail, Rapunzel began making her way to the ship. Pascal followed her, and replied, "Who, me? No way! It's just... I worry about you, and... It, uh... It looks damp in there. Yeah!"

Pascal put a fin to his forehead as he made it to the ship, "And I think I may be coming down with something. Yeah, I got this cough."

Pascal coughed, trying to convince Rapunzel, who was looking into the ship. Rapunzel looked at her friend and smiled. She whispered, "Alright, I'm going inside. You can just stay here and, watch for sharks."

"Ok," Pascal whispered back with a smile as Rapunzel slipped into the ship through a round hole where one of the windows used to be. "Yeah, you go. I'll stay and..."

Suddenly realising what she just said, a look of fear crossed his face. "What? Sharks! Rapunzel!"

Pascal swam straight into the hole Rapunzel just went through, but got stuck halfway through. He grunted, trying to wriggle his way through the hole, but was unable to get free. "Rapunzel, I can't... I mean... Rapunzel, help!"

Rapunzel turned and laughed when she saw Pascal stuck in the hole. She swam up to him and smiled, "Oh, Pascal."

"Rapunzel, do you really think there might be sharks around here?" Pascal whispered while Rapunzel tried to pull him out, completely unaware of the shark swimming past right outside.

"Pascal, don't be such a guppy," Rapunzel scolded.

"I'm no guppy!" Pascal argued. With a final grunt from the fish, Rapunzel was able to pull him out of the hole. The young mermaid began swimming through the ship, her best friend following close behind. Pascal did his best to appear excited, but in truth was kinda nervous. "This is great. I mean, I really love this. Excitement, adventure, danger lurking around every corn-"

Pascal gave a terrified scream upon seeing a human skull, and swam backwards into a vertical beam, which collapsed. "Rapunzel!"

Pascal swam full speed ahead into Rapunzel, who grunted upon being knocked backwards. Rapunzel wrapped her arms around the petrified fish. "Oh, are you ok?"

"Yeah, sure. No problem. I'm ok," Pascal replied, shaking like an underwater earthquake.

"Shh!" Rapunzel whispered, placing a finger to her lips. Rapunzel swam from the bilge up to the lower deck. She looked around, before her shimmering emerald-green eyes spotted something. "Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!"

Rapunzel eagerly swam towards the metal fork resting on the floor and picked it up, "Have you ever seen anything so wonderful in your entire life?"

Pascal swam up beside her, "Wow! Cool! But, uh, what is it?"

"I don't know," Rapunzel said with a smile, dropping the fork in her coral-pink bag she brought to put her findings in. "But I bet Scuttle will!"

Rapunzel may have been too distracted by her strange metal object to notice, but Pascal definitely heard the low rumble of a very large shark going past the ship.

"What was that? Did you hear something?" he asked nervously, swimming to the large, nearby window while Rapunzel swam towards her next treasure.

"Hmm? I wonder what this one is," she said to herself, picking up a brown pipe.

"Rapunzel?" Pascal persisted, not realising the shark was right behind him, staring at him through the window.

"Pascal, will you relax? Nothing is going to happen," Rapunzel insisted. Pascal turned around, finally seeing the shark. It was growling and had its mouth wide open, ready to come crashing right through the window. It closed its mouth and crashed through the window.

"SHARK!" Pascal screamed. Rapunzel turned, her eyes wide with fear, and quickly stuffed the pipe into her bag. Pascal desperately tried to keep away from the shark. "Shark! We're gonna die!"

Pascal swam over to Rapunzel, who wrapped a protective arm around him as the shark swam after them, chomping right through any wood that got in its way. Rapunzel and Pascal took off up to the mid-deck, searching for somewhere to escape, when the shark came breaking through the floor right in front of them. Pascal screamed, narrowly missing getting caught in the shark's teeth. Pascal continued screaming as he and Rapunzel took off away from the shark, which was following close behind, chomping through the floor boards as it went. Realising she had dropped her bag of human treasures, Rapunzel stopped and looked behind her. She gasped and sped towards her bag, only just managing to rescue it in time. She and Pascal kept swimming, before the spot where they started came into view.

"Oh no!" Pascal cried as the two sped towards that ever so familiar, perfectly round hole. Pascal went first, and again, got snuck halfway through. Pascal grunted as Rapunzel managed to push him out the other side, before slipping easily through the hole. The shark followed them, crashing right through the side of the ship.

Pascal screamed as the shark continued chasing them. Rapunzel and Pascal swam over to a nearby shipwreck, and spiralled up the mast. Rapunzel swam over the yardarm, but Pascal crashed into it, knocking him almost unconscious and he began sinking. Rapunzel charged toward her friend, swam halfway through the loop of an old anchor and caught Pascal in her arms. The shark sped towards them, growling viciously. Pascal let out a small whimper as Rapunzel slipped back out of the anchor's loop, just in time to get away from the shark, who followed them through the loop and, of course, got his big head stuck.

Rapunzel stooped down and picked up her bag while Pascal turned to the shark.

"You big bully," he told the shark, before blowing a raspberry at it. The shark opened its jaws before snapping them shut, barely missing Pascal's tongue. The green fish let out a sound that was a cross between a gasp and a whimper, before tearing after Rapunzel, who had begun swimming to the surface.

Rapunzel chuckled as her friend swam up beside her, "Pascal, you really are a guppy."

"I am not!"

* * *

Up on the surface, sitting on a flattish rock that was sticking up out of the water, a seagull sat inside a 'crow's nest' that was leaning against the rock, which had obviously broken off a ship at some point. The gull looked around through the telescope he was holding with his wings, singing some kind of random gibberish to himself, "_Hmm-hmm, fourteen hundred and ninety-two. Dah-de-dum, dee-do-do. Rum-dim-dim, dee-do-dee-do._"

"Scuttle!" Rapunzel called from not too far away. The seagull jumped at the sound of his name, almost dropping his telescope. He caught the telescope and looked through the wrong end, making the mermaid seem much further away.

"Whoa! Mermaid off the port bow! Rapunzel, how you doin', kid?" Scuttle yelled to the young girl right in front of him. He lowered the telescope to see that Rapunzel was right in front of him. "Whoa, what a swim."

"Scuttle," Rapunzel smiled, holding up her bag of treasures to show him. "Look what we found."

"Yeah! We were in this sunken ship, and it was really creepy..." Pascal explained.

"Human stuff, huh?" Scuttle asked curiously. "Hey, let me see!"

Scuttle stepped out of his crow's nest, crashing onto the rock below him. The goofy bird ran up to where Rapunzel had placed her bag, stepping on Pascal's head as he went, and began rummaging through it.

"Oh! Oh! Look at this," Scuttle said cheerfully, pulling out the fork. "Wow. This is special. This is very, very unusual."

"What? What is it?" Rapunzel asked eagerly, her emerald eyes twinkling.

"It's a dinglehopper!" Scuttle replied cluelessly, and began explaining its 'use'. "Humans use these little babies... to straighten their hair out. See?"

The seagull stuck the 'dinglehopper' into the feathers on his head and twirled it, before yanking it out, "Just a little twirl here and a yank there and vi-olee!"

The feathers on his head now looked like he'd had an electric shock, but he seemed happy with it. "Ya got an aesthetically pleasing configuration of hair that humans go nuts over."

Scuttle passed the fork back to Rapunzel, who said to herself, "A dinglehopper."

Pascal pointed to the brown pipe with his fin, "What about that one?"

"Ah!" Scuttle gasped, picking up the pipe. "This I haven't seen in years. This is wonderful! A banded, bulbous snarfblatt."

Rapunzel and Pascal looked at each other and smiled, "Oh!"

Scuttle dipped the 'snarfblatt' into the ocean, before lifting it out and pouring the water out.

"Now the snarfblatt dates back to prehistorical times when humans used to sit around and stare at each other all day. Got very boring," he told them, staring Pascal straight in the face, before sitting up. "So, they invented this snarfblatt to make fine music. Allow me."

Scuttle held the pipe to his beak and blew into it, causing some kind of sea plant to spurt out, which made the gull start coughing. "It's stuck!"

"Music! Oh, the concert!" Rapunzel cringed. "Oh, my gosh! My father's gonna _kill_ me!"

"The concert was _today_?" Pascal asked.

"Maybe you could make a little planter out of it," Scuttle said to himself, giving the pipe to Rapunzel, who frantically stuffed it and the fork into her bag.

"I'm sorry! I've gotta go! Thank you, Scuttle!" Rapunzel smiled.

"Any time, sweetie! Any time."

Rapunzel and Pascal began swimming as quickly as they could towards the Palace of Atlantica, completely unaware that they were being watched...

* * *

"Yes, hurry home, Princess. We wouldn't want to miss old Daddy's celebration, now, would we?" a voice said from the shadow, watching the pair through her magic seeing bubble. "Ha! Celebration, indeed. Oh, bah!"

"In my day..." the woman reached over to grab one of the whimpering, trembling shrimp on the tray beside her. "We had fantastical feasts, when I lived in the palace."

The woman opened her mouth, threw the shrimp in and swallowed it, before swimming over to look at herself in the mirror, "And now look at me!"

"Wasted away to practically nothing," the half person, half octopus complained, brushing her frizzy black hair. "Banished and exiled and practically starving, while _he_ and his _flimsy_ fish folk celebrate!"

"Well, _I'll_ give 'em something to celebrate soon enough," the woman continued, before yelling, "Flotsam! Jetsam!"

Her two eels quickly swam to her side, "Yes, Gothel?"

"I want you to keep an extra close watch on this _pretty_ little daughter of his," Gothel told them. "She may be the key to Triton's undoing."

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Dun... dun... daaaaaaaaaaaa... Uh oh! Gothel's up to no good... Love it! Please review.**


	3. Part of Your World

**Thank you for the reviews, guy! It really does mean quite a lot! :)**

**DreamGirll: Thank you for reading this chapter!  
****MyNameIsAlexandraRider: Thank you for the review and for helping me with improving the last chapter! And don't worry about your reviews being long. ;)  
****Guest: Glad you like it! (:  
****rapunzelfan1: Whoa, that's a lot of 'o's! Glad to see you liked it so much!  
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****MrAndersIversen: That's okay, thanks for the review!  
****Guest 2: Hope you like this next chapter!  
****TPATFan16: Thank you so much for reviewing!**

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Chapter 3 ~ Part of Your World**

Pascal swam around in anxious circles outside the Throne Room, while Rapunzel received a telling off from her father.

"I just don't know what we're going to do with you, young lady," King Triton scolded.

"Daddy, I'm sorry. I just forgot," Rapunzel tried to explain. "I-"

Triton gave her a stern look, "As a result of your careless behaviour..."

"Careless and reckless behaviour!" added Maximus, who was floating above the King's head.

Triton continued, "... the _entire_ celebration was, uh..."

"Well, it was ruined! That's all! Completely destroyed!" Maximus concluded, swimming in front of Triton to rebuke the young mermaid. "This concert was to be the pinnacle of my distinguished career. Now, thanks to you, I am the laughingstock of the entire kingdom!"

Pascal decided he'd had enough of the way the stern crab was talking to his best friend, swam into the room and yelled at the crab, "But it wasn't her fault!"

Remembering the King of Atlantica was sitting behind the crab, he began stuttering his explanation, "Uh, well, first, uh, this shark chased us. Yeah, yeah. And we tried to... but we couldn't, and he..."

King Triton and Maximus glanced at each other, before turning back to the fish, who growled to emphasise the shark.

"And... And we... Whoa!" Pascal paused and gave a sigh before continuing. "And then we were safe. But then this seagull came, and it was, 'This is this, and that is that'-"

"Seagull?" Triton questioned, causing Pascal to gasp and cover his mouth with his fins. "What? Oh! You went up to the surface again, didn't you? Didn't you?"

Rapunzel bit her lower lip briefly, "Nothing... happened."

"Oh, Rapunzel, how many times must we go through this?" Triton groaned, placing a hand on his forehead. "You could have been seen by one of those barbarians, by one of those _humans_!"

"Daddy, they're not barbarians!" Rapunzel argued.

"They are dangerous. Do you think I want to see my youngest daughter snared by a fish-eater's hook?" Triton said, lifting his daughter's head with his finger tips.

"I'm 18 years old. I'm not a child anymore!" Rapunzel told him.

"Don't you use that tone of voice with me, young lady!" her father barked. "As long as you live under my ocean, you'll obey my rules!"

"But if you would just listen..." Rapunzel tried.

"Not another word!" Triton yelled. "And I am never... _never_ to hear of you going to the surface again! Is that clear?"

Rapunzel turned and swam out of the Throne Room with tears rolling down her face, and Pascal swam off after her. King Triton sat back in his throne and sighed.

"Hmph!" Maximus, who was standing on one of the arm rests, grunted. "Teenagers. They think they know everything. You give 'em an inch, they swim all over you."

"Do you, uh, think I was too hard on her?" Triton asked.

"Definitely not!" Maximus confirmed. "Why, if Rapunzel was my daughter, I'd show her who was boss. None of this flitting to the surface and other such nonsense. No, sir. I'd keep her under tight control."

Triton rubbed his chin thoughtfully and smiled, "You're absolutely right, Maximus!"

"Of course," the little red crab replied.

"Rapunzel needs constant supervision," Triton decided. "Someone to watch over her, to keep her out of trouble."

"All the time," Maximus added.

"And _you_ are just the crab to do it!" King Triton told him, jabbing a finger into the crab's underbelly. Maximus gasped and walked out of the Throne Room.

"How do I get myself into these situations?" he grumbled to himself. "I should be writing symphonies, not tagging along after some headstrong teenager!"

He looked to the side and saw Pascal giving Rapunzel her coral-pink treasure bag. The two looked to the left and then the right, before making their way out of the palace.

"Hmm?" Maximus puzzled, and began swimming after them. "What is that girl up to?"

* * *

Maximus crawled onto a rock, panting heavily, and saw Rapunzel and Pascal stop in front of the entrance of a cave, which was covered with a large round boulder. Rapunzel pulled it forward before she and Pascal slipped inside, as the boulder began falling back into place. Maximus charged for the shrinking gap and only just managed to get through, however the boulder send him flying into the grotto, straight into an hour glass. Maximus rubbed his head, before giving a gasp. "Huh?"

The grotto - which was obviously Rapunzel's - was filled with human treasures. Rapunzel was lying on a rock in front of an old candelabra made for three candles, which currently held a knife on the left and a spoon on the right. As she twiddled her fork in her hands, Pascal looked at her with worried brown eyes, "Rapunzel, are you okay?"

"If only I could make him understand. I just don't see things the way he does," Rapunzel said sadly, carefully placing her fork in the spot between her knife and spoon. "I don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things, could be bad."

"_Look at this stuff, isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?_ _Wouldn't you think I'm the girl... the girl who has, everything?_" Rapunzel sang angelically, motioning to the grotto's packed walls. "_Look at this trove, treasures untold. How many wonders can one cavern hold? Looking around here you'd think, 'sure, she's got everything'!_"

"_I've got gadgets and gizmos a-plenty, I've got whozits and whatzits galore,_" Rapunzel swam over to one of the shelves and picked up a wooden box, before opening it to reveal several corkscrews, each one different from the rest. "_You want thingamabobs? I've got 20!_"

Rapunzel closed the box and placed it back on its shelf, then looked up at the hole in the grotto's celling. "_But who cares? No big deal. I want more! I wanna be, where the people are. I wanna see, wanna see 'em dancing! Walking around on those... What do you call 'em?_"

Pascal waggled his tail fin. Rapunzel smiled, "Oh, feet."

"_Flipping your fins, you don't get too far. Legs are required for jumping, dancing,_" Rapunzel continued swimming around her grotto. "_Strolling along down a... _What's that word again? _Street. Up where they walk, up where they run, up where they stay all day in the sun! Wandering free, wish I could be, part of that world._"

Rapunzel and Pascal swam back down to the bottom of the grotto and lay on the sandy floor. "_What would I give, if I could live, out of these waters? What would I pay, to spend a day out of the sand? Bet'cha on land, they understand. Bet they don't, reprimand their daughters. Bright women, sick of swimmin', ready to stand!_"

Rapunzel pushed herself off the ground, pulled a book off one of the shelves and opened it to show Pascal. "_And ready to know what the people know. Ask 'em my questions and get some answers! What's a fire, and why does it... What's the word? Burn?_"

By now, Rapunzel was practically shouting each word that her incredible singing voice produced, "_When's it my turn? Wouldn't I love... love to explore that shore up above?_"

Rapunzel's voice softened to the way it was when she first started singing. Rapunzel swam down to the rock she was lying on before and sat on it as Pascal came up beside her. "_Out of the sea, wish I... could be, part of that, world..._"

Maximus, who had been walking around the grotto watching Rapunzel, fell from one of the shelves into a tray covered with treasures, creating a huge crash. Rapunzel grabbed a frying pan from one of the shelves and pointed it towards where the 'crash' came from (just had to put that in there). She gasped and put the heavy metal object back on the shelf upon seeing who it was, "Maximus!"

Maximus shook the stuff off himself, "Rapunzel, what are you... How could you... What is all this?"

"It's, uh... just my collection," Rapunzel replied innocently.

"_Oh_, I see. Your collection, hmm?" the crab replied calmly, before yelling, "**IF YOUR FATHER KNEW ABOUT THIS PLACE, HE-**"

Pascal gasped and gave the crab a worried look, "You're not going to tell him, are you?"

"Oh, please Maximus, he would never understand," Rapunzel begged.

"Rapunzel, you're under a lot of pressure down here. Come with me, I'll take you home and get you something warm to drink," Maximus gently took Rapunzel's hand and began leading her out of the grotto, when a large dark shape passed over the grotto, blocking the light, and causing a low rumbling noise.

"What do you suppose..." Rapunzel mumbled to herself, and swam out of the grotto.

"Rapunzel? Rapunzel? " Maximus called as Rapunzel slipped out of the grotto and began swimming to the surface.

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Oooh, next chapter's gonna be good! What did you think of my frying pan bit? ;)**


	4. Birthday Surprises

**Hello again! Here's the next chapter!**

**Trekrider: It makes sense her using the frying pan as a weapon, as at this point she probably wouldn't have known what it really was.  
****MyNameIsAlexandraRider: I'm glad you liked it! But just for the record, who **_**wouldn't**_** have put a frying pan in there? ;)  
****TPATFan16: Thank you, and you're most welcome!  
****Guest: Thanks so much. The frying pan bit has turned out to be really popular.  
****DreamGirll: Here you go! One 'Rapunzel and Eugene meet' scene coming up...  
****shadowsaver: It only makes sense to have Pascal as Flounder and Maximus as Sebastian... ;) Glad you like it!**

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Chapter 4 ~ Birthday Surprises**

Rapunzel broke through the surface and swept some hair out of her eyes, while the rumbling and crackling of colourful fireworks exploding continued. Rapunzel gasped in awe at the sight of a majestic ship not too far away, and giggled happily as Pascal and Maximus surfaced beside her.

"Rapunzel, what are you..." Maximus began, before noticing the ship. "Jumping jellyfish!"

Rapunzel dove back into the water and began leaping towards the ship.

"Rapunzel? Rapunzel!" Maximus called. "Please! Come back!"

As Rapunzel swam up beside the ship, she could clearly hear the sound of men laughing and chatting, along with the lively music of an accordion being played. Rapunzel climbed up the side of the boat and sat on a wooden ledge on the outside of the ship and looked through a small scupper. Most of the sailors on deck were clapping to the music, but a few men were dancing happily. A shaggy grey and white sheepdog bounded around the deck, barking cheerfully. The dog stopped and sniffed the air, before making his way to the scupper Rapunzel was looking through. Rapunzel gasped, and moved to the side. After a few seconds, she slowly turned her head to see the sheepdog poking his head through the scupper, panting joyfully, before licking her cheek.

A young man whistled, before calling his dog, "Flynn! Here, boy!"

Flynn turned and barked happily, running toward his owner. Rapunzel looked through the hole to see who had called the furry land-creature.

"Hey, come on, mutt. What ya doin', huh, Flynn?" the man asked the animal, who was leaping up to lick the man's face.

Rapunzel gasped softly. The young man had stunning chocolate brown eyes and collar length brown hair, plus a goatee the same colour as his hair. He was wearing brown boots, a pair of light brown pants and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a blue vest over the top.

"Come on, Flynn," the man laughed, and began stroking the dog's head. "Good boy, good boy."

Rapunzel smiled to herself, before hearing a voice behind her.

"Hey there, sweetie!" Scuttle shouted loudly. "Quite a show, eh?"

"Scuttle, be quiet," Rapunzel hissed. "They'll hear you."

"Ooh, I got ya, I got ya," Scuttle replied, and flew down to sit next to her on the ledge. "We're bein' intrepidaceous. We're out to discover!"

Rapunzel grabbed his beak to stop him from shouting. "I've never seen a human this close before."

Rapunzel watched as the man played music through a thin silver pipe. She let go of Scutlle's beak and sighed, "He's very handsome, isn't he?"

"Well, I don't know," Scuttle replied, rubbing the back of his neck with his wing as he watched Flynn. "He looks kinda hairy and slobbery to me."

Rapunzel shook her head and smiled, "Not that one! The one playing the snarfblatt."

Just then, a well-dressed man with a small grey ponytail walked through the crowd, and said, "Silence, silence."

The crowd grew silent and the young brown-eyed man sat down on a wooden barrel.

The grey-haired man continued, "It is now my honour and privilege to present our esteemed Prince Eugene with a very special, very expensive, very large birthday present."

The man motioned toward an _indeed_ very large object, covered in some sort of brown material, with a red ribbon tied around it and the crowd cheered. Eugene smiled at his friend, "Ah, Grimsby, ya old beanpole, you shouldn't have!"

"I know," Grimsby replied as one of the sailors approached the gift and undid the ribbon. "Happy 19th birthday, Eugene."

The sailor grabbed the brown cloth covering the present and pulled it off, revealing what was supposed to be a statue of Prince Eugene, however the nose had been shaped terribly wrong. A few other sailors gasped and Flynn growled at the statue as Eugene walked up to it.

"Uh, gee, Grim..." Eugene cleared his throat, trying to sound grateful. "It's, uh... really somethin'."

"Yes, I commissioned it myself," Grimsby said proudly, before giving him a stern look. "_Of course_, I _had_ hoped it would be a _wedding_ present."

Eugene laughed, thinking to himself 'here we go again', and replied, "Come on, Grim. Don't start!"

Eugene watched up to the side of the ship; the side that the ledge Rapunzel and Scuttle were sitting on was. "You're not _still_ sore that I didn't fall in love with the Princess of Glowerhaven, are you?"

Grimsby shook his head, "Oh, Eugene, it isn't _just_ me. Everyone in the kingdom wants to see you happily settled down with the right girl."

"She's out there somewhere, Grimsby," Eugene sighed, not knowing that 'she' was literally under his nose. "I just haven't found her yet."

"Perhaps you haven't been looking hard enough," Grimsby grumbled.

"Believe me, Grim. When I find her, I'll know! Without a single doubt, it'll just... BAM... hit me, like lightning."

As if on queue, there was a flash of lightning and a loud rumble filled the sky, making Eugene, Grimsby, and everyone else on the ship aware of the storm that was brewing.

"Hurricane a-comin'!" the man in the crow's nest shouted. "Stand fast! Secure the riggin'!"

Eugene and the rest of the sailors ran in different directions to prepare the ship. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed, as howling winds ripped through the skies and rain pelted down on the ship. The sailors shouted to each other while Flynn barked fearfully.

Rapunzel clung to one of the ship's ropes for dear life. She looked down briefly, and saw Pascal and Maximus attempting to get to the ship through the roaring waves. Scuttle grabbed one of the ropes and tried not to get blown away, "Whoa! The wind's all of a sudden on a move here!"

Scuttle lost his grip and was swept away by the strong winds, "Rapunzel!"

The sailor holding the ship's wheel lost grip and was forced away from the wheel as a ginormous wave crashed against the ship. The ship's bell clanged loudly as Eugene raced to grab the ship's wheel. A monstrous wave toyed with the ship as lightning lit up the sky. Rapunzel, unable to grip the rope any longer, let go and was sent tumbling back into the ocean. She resurfaced, just in time to see a fork of lightning hit one of the sails, setting it on fire.

Eugene, noticing the ship was heading for a huge rock, screamed, "Look out!"

The sailors ran for their lives as the ship made contact. The ship's bell continued clanging, and Eugene, Grimsby and the sailors screamed as they were tossed into the waves. Somehow, somebody had managed to get the small row boat out off the ship and into the ocean, and the crew climbed in. Eugene reached out to grab Grimsby.

"Grim! Hang on!" he shouted, pulling the man into the row boat as rain continued to fall. The sound of a distant terrified bark reached Eugene's ear, and he turned to see his beloved companion on the burning ship.

"Flynn!" Eugene gasped, and dove into the waves. Eugene swam up to the ship and climbed up the side. He flung himself aboard and ran to get Flynn as the mast fell down and crashed through the top deck.

Eugene held up his arms, ready to catch the dog, "Jump, Flynn! Come on, boy! Jump! You can do it, Flynn!"

Flynn obeyed, and leapt into his master's arms. Eugene ran across the deck, trying to find somewhere safe to jump from the ship. Just as he reached the edge of the ship, his foot fell through the deck, and Flynn yelped as he flew from his arms and into the ocean.

Eugene desperately tried to free himself, completely unaware that the flames were quickly nearing the explosives below deck.

"Eugene!" Grimsby yelled, pulling Flynn into the row boat.

Grimsby, Flynn and the sailors watched in horror as the ship exploded. Rapunzel, who had witnessed the whole thing, sprang into action and carefully made her way to the ship. She searched through the bits of debris floating on the surface, until she saw Eugene. She swam towards the unconscious human prince as he slipped under the waves. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to the surface. Holding Eugene tightly in her arms, she began making her way back to shore, as left-over fireworks burst and Flynn barked from somewhere out in the distance.

* * *

By the time she reached the shore, it was morning. Rapunzel carefully laid the still unconscious prince on the beach, and was soon joined by Scuttle.

"Is he... dead?" Rapunzel asked nervously.

"It's hard to say," the gull replied, and waddled down towards Eugene's feet. Scuttle grabbed the prince's right foot and pressed it to his ear. He sighed and shook his head, "I'm sorry, kid. I can't make out a heartbeat."

Rapunzel turned to look at the human's face and smiled, "No, look! He's breathing!"

She sighed as she swept one of his brown locks of his face. "He's so beautiful."

"_What would I give... to live where you are?_" Rapunzel sang softly. "_What would I pay... to stay here beside you? What would I do... to see you, smiling at me?_"

Maximus, who was resting in the shallow water nearby with Pascal, looked at the mermaid and his jaw dropped, realizing that the merprincess that _he_ was supposed to keep out of trouble had _fallen in love_ with a _human_!

Rapunzel continued to sing softly, "_Where would we walk, where would we run, if we could stay all day in the sun?_"

Eugene, regaining consciousness, looked up and smiled at the girl who saved him. At first glance, he thought he was looking at an angel. She had the most beautiful emerald-green eyes he'd ever seen, and her long brown hair seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. He reached up and placed a hand on her cheek, instantly in love with this mysterious angel.

"_Just you and me, and I could be..._" she sang sweetly, in a voice that Eugene knew he would remember forever. "_Part of your world_."

As she finished her beautiful melody, the sound of Flynn's barking filled their ears, and Rapunzel slipped away from Eugene and hurried back into the ocean.

Just as she left, Eugene received a lick on the face from Flynn, before he heard Grimsby calling him, "Eugene? Eugene!"

Eugene sat up as Grimsby came up beside him and helped him to his feet, "Oh, you really delight in these sadistic strains on my blood pressure, don't you?"

Eugene shook his head, "A girl... rescued me. She... she was... singing. She sounded like... like an angel."

Eugene grew faint and stumbled backwards, and was caught by Grimsby, "Ah, Eugene. I think you've swallowed a bit too much seawater."

Grimsby began leading Eugene back to the palace. "Off we go. Come along, Flynn."

Flynn, who was leaping around in the waves, began making his way over to Grimsby and his human friend.

Rapunzel, who was hiding behind a rock, watched them, not really listening to Maximus, who was explaining to her and Pascal how they were going to pull this off, "We just gotta forget this whole thing ever happened. The sea king will never know. You won't tell him. I won't tell him. I will stay in one piece."

Rapunzel kept watching Eugene, and began to sing again, "_I don't know when, I don't know how, but I know something's starting right now! Watch and you'll see... Someday I'll be... Part of your world!_"

Neither Eugene nor Grimsby heard Rapunzel singing, but Flynn did, and he answered her with a happy bark.

As Rapunzel watched the three vanish from sight, two eels watched her from not to far away...

* * *

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no," Gothel smiled wickedly as she watched Rapunzel through her seeing bubble. "I can't stand it! It's too easy! The child is in love with a human. And not just _any_ human, a prince!"

Gothel chuckled, "Oh, Daddy'll _love_ that. King Triton's headstrong, lovesick girl _would_ make a _charming_ addition to my little garden."

Gothel cackled as she looked at her garden of creatures.

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Wow, that was long! Hope you enjoyed it! Please review!**


	5. She's in Love

**Okay, I've had this chapter ready to go since the day I posted the last one… And now, here it is!**

**DreamGirll: So glad you liked it! And, just like my frying pan in the last chapter, who wouldn't have taken that opportunity to mess up his nose? ;)  
****Demonic Weasel: Thanks! I didn't get it quite right at first, but MyNameIsAlexandraRider was a fantastic help!  
****TPATFan16: I love them too. Alan Menken is legend!  
****MyNameIsAlexandraRider: Thanks again for being such a big help with this story!**

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Chapter 5 ~ She's in Love**

In the next few days that passed, it was quite clear that something had gotten into Rapunzel.

Rebecca swam in front of the wash room and called out to her youngest sister, "Rapunzel, dear, time to come out. You've been in there all morning."

Rapunzel emerged from the room, not really paying her sister any attention as she daydreamed of the handsome Prince Eugene. She hummed the tune of the song she sang to him, not noticing the looks her sisters were giving her.

"What is with her lately?" Rosella asked as she and her sisters crowded around Rapunzel, who was messing with her hair in front of the mirror.

Rapunzel continued humming as she picked a sea flower from nearby and swam off, bumping into her father on the way out, "Oh! Morning, Daddy."

Rapunzel placed the flower in her father's long white hair, and he chuckled, "Well!"

Rapunzel swam out of the room and down the corridor, humming and twirling gracefully as she went. King Triton watched in confusion at his daughter's state, and was quickly joined by his other six daughters.

"Oh, she's got it bad," Rihanna stated.

"What? What has she got?"

"Isn't it obvious, Daddy?" Regina asked. "Rapunzel's in love."

"Rapunzel? In love?" Triton questioned himself, pulling the flower out of his hair and smiling to himself.

* * *

"Ok. So far, so good," Maximus said to himself, pacing round in circles. "I don't think the king knows. But it will not be easy keeping something like this a secret for long."

Rapunzel wasn't listening. She was too busy picking petals off the flower in front of her. She sighed, thinking about her handsome prince for the, what... thousandth time. "He loves me. Mmm, he loves me not."

She gasped happily, picking the last petal off and holding it close to her heart, "He loves me!"

She laughed happily, "I knew it!"

"Rapunzel, stop talking crazy!" Maximus scolded.

"I've gotta see him again," she decided. "Tonight! Scuttle knows where he lives."

Rapunzel began swimming off, but Maximus grabbed her tail, "Rapunzel, will you please get your head out of the clouds and back into the water where it belongs?"

Rapunzel paid the crab no attention. Her heart and mind were set on seeing her love again. "I'll swim up to his castle, then Pascal will splash around to get his attention, and then we'll-"

"DOWN HERE is your home!" Maximus shouted, and swam in front of her face. "Rapunzel, listen to me. The human world is an absolute mess! Life under the sea is _much_ better than _anything_ they got up there."

Rapunzel sat down on the rock she was sitting on before and Maximus stood next to her, and began singing about life under the waves, "_The seaweed is always greener, in somebody else's lake._"

Rapunzel looked up longingly, and Maximus kept singing, "_You dream about going up there, but that is a big mistake. Just look at the world around you, right here on the ocean floor. Such wonderful things around you. What more is you lookin' for?_"

A school of yellow fish swam around her, and Maximus continued, "_Under the sea, under the sea. Darlin', it's better down where it's wetter, take it from me! Up on the shore, they work all day. Out in the sun, they slave away, while we devoting full time to floating. Under the sea._"

Rapunzel watched as Maximus swam up to a bright blue lobster, who was playing a set of clam shells in time to the music. Maximus continued singing, "_Down here, all the fish is happy, as off through the waves they roll._"

A cute baby dolphin swam past. Maximus frowned and pointed to a fish who was caught inside a large bubble, "_The fish on the land ain't happy. They sad 'cause they in the bowl. But fish in the bowl is lucky, they in for a worser fate. One day, when the boss get hungry,_" Maximus reached forward and popped the bubble before finishing his line, "G_uess who's gon'be on the plate. Oh, no!_"

A small group of seahorses appeared and tickled Rapunzel's face as Max kept pointing out what made the sea so fantastic, "_Under the sea, under the sea. Nobody beat us, fry us and eat us in fricassee. We what the land folks loves to cook, but under the sea, we off the hook. We got no troubles, life is the bubbles, under the sea. Under the sea, since life is sweet here, we got the beat here, naturally!_"

Loads of different sea creatures came and began to play different 'instruments'. Maximus smiled, and continued his song, "_Even the sturgeon and the ray, they get the urge 'n' start to play. We got the spirit, you gotta hear it, under the sea. The newt play the flute, the carp play the harp, the plaice play the bass and they soundin' sharp. The bass play the brass, the chub play the tub, the fluke is the duke of soul. The ray, he can play, the ling's on the strings, the trout's rockin' out, the blackfish, she sings. The smelt and the sprat, they know where it's at. An' oh, that blowfish blow!_"

Pascal appeared in the crowd, in search of his best friend. He smiled, and swam up to Rapunzel. He hovered close to her ear and whispered, "Come with me. You have to see something."

Rapunzel smiled, and swam off with Pascal. Nobody noticed her leave and the song continued. "_Yeah, under the sea, under the sea. When the sardine begin to beguine, it's music to me! What do they got? A lot of sand? We got a hot crustacean band! Each little clam here know's how to jam here, under the sea. Each little slug here's cutting a rug here, under the sea. Each little snail here know's how to wail here. That's why it's hotter under the water. Ya, we in luck here, down in the muck here, under the sea!_"

At the exact same moment, all the sea creatures turned to the rock Rapunzel was sitting on to see that she was gone.

"Rapunzel?" Maximus groaned as all the sea creatures swam off. "Somebody's got to nail that girl's fins to the floor."

"Maximus!" a voice called. Max turned to see who it was and Harold appeared. "Maximus, I've been looking all over for you! I've got an urgent message from the sea king."

"The sea king?" Maximus asked, trying not to sound too nervous.

"He wants to see you right away. Something about Rapunzel," Harold told him, then sped off towards the palace.

Maximus gasped, "He knows."

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Dun-dun-daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aa! *gulps* Uh-oh... Please review!**


	6. Secret's Out

**Hello, readerers! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Wolfram-and-Hart-Sauron: Thanks for reviewing! (: It might make more sense for Max to be a seahorse, but keep in mind that Max has to be able to live out of water with Rapunzel...  
****Trekrider: Yeah, 'Under the Sea's an awesome song!  
****TPATFan16: Just wait until he finds out!  
****MyNameIsAlexandraRider: I know. It's probably because to explore the human world, but are held back by their parents.  
****MrAndersIversen: That's okay. Hope you enjoy this chapter!  
****DreamGirll: I know... Truth be told, right now I'm listening to it in chipmunk! :)**

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Chapter 6 ~ Secret's Out**

King Triton laughed to himself as he sat on his throne, messing with the flower Rapunzel had put in his hair, "Hey, let's see now. Oh, who could the lucky merman be?"

He looked up and noticed Max standing in the doorway. King Triton straightened up and cleared his throat, "Come in, Maximus."

Maximus inhaled sharply, "I mustn't overreact. I must remain calm."

He quickly scurried over to the king and asked, in a voice much squeakier than he'd hoped, "Yes?" He cleared his throat and tried again, "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Maximus, I'm concerned about Rapunzel," Triton told the crab. "Have you noticed she's been acting peculiarly lately?"

"Oh! Uh, peculiarly?" Maximus questioned.

"You know, mooning about, daydreaming, singing to herself... You haven't noticed, hmm?"

Maximus could tell where this was going. The king would ask who Rapunzel was in love with, and he would have no other option but to tell the king that she was in love with a human. "Oh, well, I..."

"Maximus..." Triton said sternly.

"Hmm?" Maximus asked nervously, forcing a smile.

The king beckoned for him to come closer, "I know you've been keeping something from me."

Max, who was now hovering in front of the king, gulped, "Keeping something?"

Triton continued with a smile, "About Rapunzel? In love, hmm?"

Maximus whimpered and, unable to keep it in any longer, blurted out, "I tried to stop her, sire! She wouldn't listen! I told her to stay away from humans! They are bad! They are trouble!"

"Humans?" Triton asked, before raging, "**WHAT ABOUT HUMANS?**"

Maximus gasped, realising what he just did, "Humans?" Maximus chuckled nervously. "Who said anything about humans?"

The crab yelped as King Triton grabbed him in one hand.

* * *

"Pascal, why can't you just tell me what you're up to?" Rapunzel asked as she followed Pascal into her grotto.

"You'll see," he smiled. "It's a surprise!"

Rapunzel gasped, seeing her friend's surprise. Standing in the middle of the grotto was the statue of her precious Prince Eugene; not a single scratch, crack or chip on it.

"Oh, Pascal," Rapunzel breathed, and gave her best friend a hug. "Pascal, you're the best!"

She swam up to the statue, and looked at the green fish. "How on Earth did you... Oh, it doesn't matter."

Rapunzel giggled as she looked into the statue's eyes. She wrapped her arms around the statue's neck, and pretended that it was her Eugene, "My goodness, Eugene! Run away with you? This is all so... so sudden."

Rapunzel laughed as she spun around, before gasping as her father appeared in the doorway, his trident in hand. "Daddy?"

"I consider myself a reasonable merman," Triton began. "I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed. Is it true that you rescued a human from drowning?"

"Daddy, I had to..." Rapunzel began, before being interrupted.

"Contact between the human world and the merworld is strictly forbidden. You know that, Rapunzel! Everyone knows that!"

"He would've died."

"One less human to worry about!" Triton replied.

"You don't even know him!" Rapunzel cried.

"Know him? I don't have to know him!" her father yelled. "They're all the same! Spineless, savage, harpooning fish-eaters incapable of any feeling..."

Rapunzel decided she'd had enough of the way her father was talking about her prince.

"Daddy, I love him!" Rapunzel shouted, then gasping as she realised what she had just said.

"No!" Triton gasped in horror. "Have you lost your senses completely? He's a human! You're a mermaid!"

"I don't care," Rapunzel said firmly.

"Help me, Rapunzel! I am _going_ to get through to you! And if _this_ is the only way... so be it!" Triton raised his trident and pointed it towards one of the shelves. A glowing beam of light flew towards the shelf, destroying the treasures in that spot.

"Daddy! No! No, please! Daddy, stop!" Rapunzel screamed as her treasures shattered. But Triton didn't stop. Everything on every shelf ended up destroyed.

Rapunzel swam forward to try to stop him, and gasped when she saw her father's livid gaze on the statue of Eugene, "Daddy, no!"

But Triton's anger made him deaf to his daughter's desperate pleas, and he sent a glowing beam toward the statue, and it shattered into pieces.

Once the water cleared, Rapunzel looked at the empty walls of the grotto. She looked at her father, the man she once saw as a hero, but in this moment saw as some kind of vicious thug, before she threw herself down on the rock on the grotto's floor and began sobbing.

Triton's face softened at the sound of his daughter's tears, and he turned and swam out of the grotto.

Maximus approached the mermaid, "Rapunzel, I-"

"Please," Rapunzel said quietly, "Just go away."

Maximus and Pascal respected her wishes and left Rapunzel alone in the cavern.

"Poor child. Poor, sweet child," a voice sighed. Rapunzel looked up and saw two eels swimming around the grotto. The eel who was just speaking, who had a large scar across the side of his face, continued. "She has a _very_ serious problem."

The second eel, who had some seaweed wrapped around his head to cover his left eye, replied, "Oh, Flotsam. If only there was something we could do."

The first eel, Flotsam, smiled, "But Jetsam, there _is_ something we can do!"

"Who... who are you?" Rapunzel stammered.

"Don't be scared," the second eel, Jetsam, told her. "We represent someone who can help you."

"Someone who can make all your dreams come true," Flotsam added. "Just imagine, you and your prince..."

"Together forever," the two eels chorused.

"I don't understand," Rapunzel replied.

"Gothel has great powers," Jetsam hissed.

Rapunzel gasped at the very mention of the woman, "The sea witch? Why, that's... I couldn't possibly. No! Get out of here! Leave me alone!"

"Suit yourself," Flotsam replied, as he and his brother turned to exit the cavern.

"It was only a suggestion," Jetsam added, using his tail to flick what was left of the statue of her beloved towards her. Rapunzel picked up the fragment of the statue; the face. No matter how badly the statue maker had shaped Eugene's nose, they had captured his eyes perfectly.

"Wait," Rapunzel called to the eels.

They both turned and smiled at her, "Yes?"

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

***gulps* Oh no... Now we're **_**really**_** heading for trouble! Please review!**


	7. Poor Unfortunate Souls

**Hello all! Here's Chapter 7. Hope you all enjoy it!**

**MyNameIsAlexandraRider: I know how you feel. When I was little I just **_**couldn't**_** watch it. It scared me too much. Thanks for the review!  
****TPATFan16: Just wait until the end of this chapter!  
****shadowsaver: I completely agree! Thanks for reviewing!  
****DreamGirll: Here it is! The part when Rapunzel makes her deal with Gothel!  
****MrAndersIversen: Glad you're enjoying it! Thanks so much for all the encouragement you give me!**

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Chapter 7 ~ Poor Unfortunate Souls**

Maximus and Pascal waited outside for Rapunzel to come out. Pascal sniffled, "Poor Rapunzel. What happened to _not_ telling the sea king?"

"I honestly didn't mean to tell! It was an accident!" Maximus replied. A shadow floated over them, and they looked up to see Rapunzel swimming off with two eels.

"Rapunzel? Where are you going?" Maximus asked, swimming in front of her face. "Rapunzel, what are you doing, following this riffraff?"

"I'm going to see Gothel," Rapunzel replied indifferently.

Maximus gasped in shock and horror, "Rapunzel, no! No! She's a demon! She's a monster!"

"Why don't you go tell my father? You're good at that!" Rapunzel spat, speeding off after Flotsam and Jetsam.

"But... But, I..." Maximus stammered, looking at Pascal. "Come on!"

With that, the two sped off after her.

* * *

After swimming for a good mile, Rapunzel, Flotsam and Jetsam arrived outside a large cave shaped like a lionfish. Rapunzel hesitated as they reached the cave entrance. Flotsam and Jetsam turned to look at her.

"This way," they hissed, before swimming into the cave.

Rapunzel took a deep breath and followed them into the cave. Rapunzel gasped at the sight of over a hundred moaning polyps.

"Come in. Come in, my child. We mustn't lurk in doorways, it's rude," a voice called. Rapunzel cautiously swam towards the voice, away from the creepy polyps. She swam out of the hallway into the cave and saw Gothel sitting in front of her mirror. She turned to look at her visitor, "One might question your upbringing."

Gothel chuckled, and turned back to look in the mirror. She squeezed some kind of foam into her hands and lathered it into her frizzy black hair. "Now, then, you're here because you have a thing for this prince fellow of yours. Not that I blame you. He is quite a catch, isn't he?"

Gothel sniggered, putting on some sort of red lipstick, "Well, my flower, the solution to your problem is simple. The _only_ way to get what you want... is to become a human yourself."

Rapunzel gasped, "Can... you do that?"

"My dear, sweet child... that's what I do," Gothel replied, swimming over to the mermaid. "It's what I _live_ for. To help unfortunate merfolk, like yourself. Poor souls with no one else to turn to."

"_I admit that in the past I've been a nasty_," Gothel sang. "_They weren't kidding when they called me, well, a witch. But you'll find that nowadays, I've mended all my ways, repented, seen the light and made a switch. True? Yes._"

"_And I fortunately know a little magic. It''s a talent that I always have possessed,_" Gothel swam up to her cauldron and opened it. She created an image of a very overweight mermaid and a very skinny, wimpy-looking merman. "_And here lately, please don't laugh, I use it on behalf of the miserable, lonely and depressed._"

"Pathetic," Gothel whispered to her eels, before continuing. "_Poor unfortunate souls; in pain, in need. This one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl, and do I help them?_"

Gothel snapped her fingers and the merman was muscular, the mermaid was much thinner, and the two swam into each others arms. "_Yes, indeed! Those poor, unfortunate souls; so sad, so true. They come flocking to my cauldron crying 'spells, Gothel, please', and I help them, yes I do. Now it's happened once or twice, someone couldn't pay the price, and I'm afraid I had to rake 'em across the coals._"

Gothel waved her hand and the two merpeople transformed into creatures that looked like the ones in the hallway.

Gothel continued, "_Yes, I've had the odd complaint, but on the whole I've been a saint... to those poor unfortunate souls._"

Gothel wrapped an arm around Rapunzel's shoulders and guided her towards the cauldron, "Now, here's my offer. I'll make you a potion that will turn you into a human for three days. Got it? Three days. Now listen, this is important. Before the sun sets on the third day, you've got to get dear old princie to fall in love with you. Meaning, he has to kiss you. Not just _any_ kiss, the kiss of true love. If he _does_ kiss you before the sun sets on the third day, you'll remain human permanently. But if he doesn't, you'll turn back into a mermaid and... you belong... to me!"

"No, Rapunzel!" Maximus, who was hovering near the doorway with Pascal, cried. Flotsam and Jetsam quickly swam over and wrapped themselves around the two, silencing their protests.

"Have we got a deal?" Gothel asked.

"If I become human, I'll never be with my father or sisters again."

"That's right! But... you'll have your man. Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?" Gothel cackled. "Oh! And there is _one_ more thing. We haven't discussed the subject of payment. You can't get something for nothing, you know."

Rapunzel held up her hands, "But I don't have..."

"I'm not asking much. Just a token really, a trifle. You'll never even miss it. What I want from you is... your voice."

Rapunzel put a hand up to her throat, "My voice?"

"You've got it, flower. No more talking, singing. Zip!"

"But without my voice, how can I..."

"You've got your looks, your pretty face," Gothel interrupted. "And don't forget the importance of body language. Ha!"

Gothel swam up to a cupboard on the wall of the cave and pulled out several different ingredients, and sang, "_The men up there don't like a lot of blabber. They think a girl who gossips is a bore. Yes, on land it's much preferred for ladies not to say a word and, after all dear, what is idle prattle for? Come on! They're not all that impressed with conversation. True gentlemen avoid it when they can. But they dote and swoon and fawn on a lady who's withdrawn. It's she who holds her tongue who gets her man. Come on, you poor unfortunate soul! Go ahead, make your choice! I'm a very busy woman and I haven't got all day. It won't cost much, just your voice! Ya poor, unfortunate soul, it's sad, but true._"

Gothel made a scroll appear and handed Rapunzel a quill pen. "_If you want to cross a bridge, my flower you've got to pay the toll. Take a gulp and take a breath, go ahead and sign the scroll._'

"Flotsam, Jetsam, now I've got her, boys," Gothel whispered to her eels, before she sang, "_The boss is on a roll. This poor unfortunate soul!_"

Maximus and Pascal gasped in horror as Rapunzel signed her name on the scroll. Gothel smiled evilly at her and chanted a spell, "_Beluga, sevruga. Come, winds of the Caspian Sea. Larynxis, glossitis, et max laryngitis. La voce to me!_"

A wispy green 'hand' appeared and Gothel grinned wickedly at her victim, "Now, sing!"

Rapunzel began vocalising, and the wispy green whatever-it-was neared her.

"Keep singing!" Gothel screamed. Rapunzel continued vocalising, and the wispy green thing reached into her throat and pulled out a small glowing ball of light - her voice - and pulled it into the shell that Gothel constantly wore around her neck. Gothel cackled as the cauldron began to pop and whizz, and Rapunzel was caught in massive bubble. A few flashes and a bang later, she was human. Maximus and Pascal sped over to her and raced her up to the surface.

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**And up to the surface she goes! Please review!**


	8. Speechless

**Hello all! Here's the next chapter...**

**DreamGirll: Oh, trust me... this is gonna be good!  
****TPATFan16: Firstly, thank you so much for the review. And secondly, thank you for saying you'll think about my request! Trust me, if you **_**did**_** do it, I'd probably end up being your first review. ;)  
****MrAndersIversen: Thank you so much for reviewing! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!  
****MyNameIsAlexandraRider: **_**I'm**_** glad to know **_**I'm**_** not the only one who was afraid of that scene! And don't worry! Your wait is over...**

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Chapter 8 ~ Speechless**

Eugene leaned against the wall of his beach-side castle, and once again played the tune of the song the girl who rescued him sang as he stared at the ocean. In the few days since he was rescued, he'd searched his entire kingdom 5 times.

Eugene stood up straight and sighed, "That voice. I just can't get it out of my head."

Flynn gave him a sympathetic whimper, and Eugene knelt on the sand to pet his friend, "I've looked everywhere, Flynn. Where could she be?"

* * *

Maximus pulled himself up onto a small flat rock poking out of the shallow water while Pascal floated beside him, both panting heavily after the long, hard, tiring swim to get Rapunzel up to the surface.

Rapunzel, who was resting against a nearby rock, stirred, and noticed the tops of knees sticking out of the water. She slowly lifted her lower right leg out of the water, and smiled as she wriggled her toes.

"Well, look at what the catfish dragged in!" Scuttle shouted as he swooped down and landed on her lower right leg. "Look at ya. Look at ya! There's somethin' different. Don't tell me."

Scuttle thought for a moment, "I got it! It's your hairdo, right? You've been usin' the dinglehopper, right?"

Rapunzel shook her head and Scuttle frowned, "No? No, huh? Well, let me see."

"New seashell?" Scuttle guessed, before noticing she was wearing the same purple seashells she alway wore. "No new seashells."

Rapunzel jiggled her lower leg, trying to make her friend realise what was different. But he didn't.

"I gotta admit, I can't put my foot on it right now. But if I just stand here long enough-"

Maximus, who had had enough of the gull's clueless behaviour, yelled, "**SHE'S GOT LEGS, YOU IDIOT!** She traded her voice to the sea witch and got legs. Geez, man!"

"I knew that," Scuttle replied coolly.

"Rapunzel's been turned into a human. She has to make Prince Eugene fall in love with her, and he's gotta kiss her," Pascal explained calmly, while Rapunzel attempted to stand up.

"And she's only got three days!" Maximus added as Rapunzel lost her balance and fell back into the water, while he began panicking. "Just look at her! On legs! On human legs! My nerves are shot! This is a catastrophe! What would her father say? I'll tell you what her father'd say... He'd say 'he's gonna kill himself a crab'! That's what her father'd say!"

Rapunzel, who had managed to stand upright, scooped Maximus up into her hands at his next sentence, "I'm gonna march meself straight home right now and tell him just like I should have done the minute..."

"And don't you shake your head at me, young lady!" Maximus shouted at Rapunzel, who was shaking her head frantically. Maximus took a few deep breaths, before calmly saying, "Maybe there's still time. If we could get Gothel to give you back your voice, you could go home with all the _normal_ fish and just be... just be..."

Maximus stopped upon seeing the face Rapunzel was giving him. Her naturally large emerald-green eyes were massive as she gave him her best puppy-dog-eyes, her lower lip trembling slightly. Maximus sighed, "Just be miserable for the rest of your life."

Maximus shook his head, unable to believe what he was about to say, "All right, all right... I'll try to help ya win over that prince."

Rapunzel's face lit up and she kissed the crab on the cheek, before placing him back on the rock he was sitting on before.

"Boy," Max mumbled to himself. "What a soft shell I'm turning out to be."

"Now, Rapunzel, I'm telling ya. If you wanna be a human, the first thing you gotta do is dress like one," Scuttle told Rapunzel, and grabbed some rope and an old ship's sail from the beach. "Now, let me see."

* * *

Flynn followed after his human friend, who was strolling along the beach feeling sorry for himself at not being able to find the girl he'd fallen in love with.

At that moment, Flynn noticed something and sniffed. Something about the air smelt familiar. Realising that the scent lingering in the air was the scent of his friend's mystery girl, he began bouncing around his human, barking excitedly.

"Flynn? What? Huh?" Eugene asked in a confused voice. Flynn realised his friend didn't understand what he was trying to tell him, so he charged off in the direction the scent was coming from.

"Flynn!" Eugene called, before running after his dog.

* * *

Scuttle wolf-whistled at Rapunzel, "Ya look great, kid. Ya look sensational."

The clueless gull had done his best to cloth his now-human friend by wrapping the sail he found around her body and tying the rope around her to keep the sail in place.

They were interrupted by the sound of barking. Pascal gasped, and swam below the surface, just as Flynn appeared from behind some tall rocks not too far away, panting happily. Barking excitedly, Flynn charged towards Rapunzel, who climbed on top of a large rock sticking out of the sand, while Maximus ducked for cover in a small pocket in the sail. Flynn stood up on his back paws and licked Rapunzel's cheek.

"Flynn?" a voice called from nearby. Rapunzel looked up just in time to see none other than Prince Eugene appear on the beach. Flynn ran to his master, barking happily. "Quiet, Flynn."

Flynn continued bouncing around all over the place, trying to get his human friend to notice the girl just metres away.

"What's gotten into you, fella?" Eugene asked, before noticing a young brunette watching them. Flynn ran over to her, and Eugene realised what he was barking about. "Oh! Oh, I see."

Rapunzel quickly fixed her hair as the prince approached her.

"Are you ok, miss?" Eugene asked, and began ruffling his dog's fur. "I'm sorry if this knucklehead scared you. He's harmless really, he's just a bit... uh..."

Eugene paused, finally getting a good look at the girl. Her brown hair rested roughly on her hips, and she had the most beautiful emerald-green eyes he'd ever seen. Now that he thought about it, all in all she looked extremely familiar.

"You seem... very familiar to me," Eugene stated. And then it dawned on him... Could it really be her? His eyes widened hopefully and he asked, "Have we met?"

Rapunzel nodded eagerly and Flynn barked cheerfully.

"We _have_ met?" Eugene clarified, gently pushing Flynn aside, before receiving another small nod from the brunette girl. His eyes lit up and he smiled widely, taking her hands in his. "I knew it! You're the one! The one I've been looking for! What's your name?"

Rapunzel opened her mouth and tried to tell him her name, but remembered that she could no longer talk when no sound passed through her lips.

"What's wrong? What is it?" Eugene asked, concern clear in his voice. Rapunzel patted her neck. "You can't speak?"

Rapunzel shook her head sadly, and Eugene sighed, feeling his every hope come crashing down again. "Oh... then you couldn't be who I thought."

Rapunzel sighed, before getting an idea. She waved her hand at Eugene, who gave her a confused look, "What's wrong?"

Rapunzel began using her hand to imitate Gothel taking her voice.

"You're hurt?" Eugene guessed, but learnt he was wrong when Rapunzel shook her head. "No? Um... you need help?"

Rapunzel tried again, this time mimicking the rolling waves, but lost her balance and fell from the rock.

"Whoa, careful!" Eugene cried, catching the brunette in his arms. She tried to stand upright, but kept wobbling as she tried to gain her balance. "Careful, easy."

Eugene looked deep into her eyes and two things happened. Firstly, he felt a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttering in his stomach, and secondly, he realised that this girl needed help.

"Gee, you must have really been through something," Eugene said, mostly to himself. "Don't worry. Don't worry. I'll help you."

Eugene wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began leading her to his palace. "Come on, come on. You'll be okay."

Rapunzel glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Pascal and Scuttle, who gave her a thumbs-up with his wing. Flynn barked merrily, trotting beside his master, who was leading the brunette girl up the beach.

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Well, that concludes Chapter 8... Hope to get a few more reviews this time...**


	9. Life on Land

**Well, we're officially half way through! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**TPATFan16: Thanks again for saying that you'll work on that story idea. I'm sure it will be great! :)  
****MyNameIsAlexandraRider: Glad you like it!  
****DreamGirll: 'ere you go! ;)  
****MrAndersIversen: Glad you're not getting lost. ;) Hope you like this chapter...  
****Cookie Lover-1234 : Yay! New reviewer! Thank you so much for your support!**

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Chapter 9 ~ Life on Land**

Rapunzel smiled as she let herself relax in the nice, hot, soapy water one of Eugene's servants had prepared for her. She scooped some bubbles into her hands and gently blew them into the air.

"Washed up from a shipwreck. Oh, the poor dear," the maid, Susanna, mused, and poured some fresh water over the young brunette's head. "Don't you worry. We'll have you feeling better in no time."

Maximus, who was still hiding in the sail, peaked out of the old cloth, but gasped and hid back in the sail when Susanna reached out to grab it as she hummed merrily to herself.

"I'll just..." Susanna trailed off and made a slightly disgusted face at the cream-coloured rag, and held it as far away from herself as possible. "I'll just... get this washed for you."

* * *

Maximus gasped, and spluttered as one of the laundry maids threw the sail into a bucket of soapy water.

"Well, you must have at least _heard_ about this girl," the maid said to her fellow laundry maids, scrubbing the cloth against a washboard.

"No!" another maid replied. "Although, Ophelia says-"

"Then has _Ophelia_ ever gotten anything right?" a third maid asked.

"Well, I do know _one_ thing... If Prince Eugene's looking for a girl, I know a couple of _very_ highly available ones down here," the first maid commented, flicking her hair back in a flirty manner.

The three maids giggled, while the first maid pulled the old sail out of the bucket. Maximus hiccuped and some bubbles floated out his mouth. Shaking his head vigorously, he hopped out of the piece of cloth.

The second maid screamed loudly, "**AHHHH! CRAB!**"

Maximus leaped into the pocket of a shirt hanging above their heads, scurried along the clothes line and jumped onto a windowsill, while the maids made keeping away from the little red crustacean their main priority.

Maximus fell off the other side of the windowsill onto a wooden bench. After pushing himself up, he gasped, seeing that he was in the worst room of a human castle a crab could be in; the dreaded kitchen. Everywhere he turned, poor Max saw knifes and fish and pots where the fish was being cooked. He gasped louder, seeing a plate _full_ of stuffed crabs. Unable to take any more, he passed out.

* * *

Eugene stood at the window, still thinking about his mystery girl, "I don't care what it takes, Grimsby! I love her, I _need_ to find her!"

"Oh, Eugene. Please be reasonable," Grimsby sighed, sitting at the dinner table. "_Nice_ young ladies just _don't_ swim around rescuing people in the middle of the ocean, then flitter off into oblivion like some sort of-"

"I'm tellin' ya, Grim. She was real! I'm gonna find that girl," Eugene interrupted, briefly looking away from the window. He turned back to look through the glass panels. "And when I do, I'm gonna marry her."

The sound of Susanna's laughter filled the hall outside, and Eugene turned to see her and the mysterious brunette girl's silhouettes in the doorway. Susanna smiled at the girl and urged, "Come on, honey. Don't be shy."

Rapunzel slowly walked into the room, and Eugene's eyes widened when she stepped out of the darkness. She was wearing an elegant lavender gown with elbow length sleeves, which were slightly puffed up around her shoulders. On top of that, Susanna had neatly braided her hair, and had carefully woven various small flowers throughout the lose braid.

"Oh, Eugene, isn't she a vision?" Grimsby mused, walking up behind the prince.

"Uh, you... you look beautiful," Eugene stammered slightly. Rapunzel, unable to say 'thank you', replied with a gentle blush.

"Come, come. You must be famished. Let me help you, my dear," Grimsby said to the young girl, and began leading her towards one of the dining room chairs. Eugene tucked the chair under the table as the girl sat down.

"There we go, that's better. Quite comfy, hmm?" Grimsby smiled as he and Eugene made their way to their chairs and sat down. "It's not often we have such a lovely dinner guest, eh, Eugene?"

Rapunzel wasn't playing attention anymore. She was too intrigued by the glistening silver 'dinglehopper' resting on the table. With a wide smile, she picked up the shiny object and began brushing her hair with it. She smiled at the prince, but quickly put the 'dinglehopper' back on the table when she saw the shocked looks on Eugene's and Grimsby's faces. She began chewing nervously on her lower lip, until she saw Grimsby holding a 'snarfblatt'.

Grimsby smiled kindly at her, and handed her his pipe, "Do you like it? It _is_ quite a fine..."

Grimsby stop mid-sentence when the young brunette in front of him blew into the pipe as if it was a trumpet, sending a cloud of smoke spurting out the top and straight into his face.

Eugene cracked up with laughter, while Susanna gave a small giggle, "Oh my."

Eugene cleared his throat, trying to regain composure, "Sorry, Grim."

"Why, Eugene," Susanna smiled, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder. "That's the first time I've seen you smile in weeks."

Rapunzel looked up from the table and smiled, while Grimsby wiped the last bit of smoke of his face and sniffed, "Ah, very amusing. Susanna, my dear, what's for dinner?"

Susanna grinned, "Oh, you're gonna love it! Chef's been fixing his speciality: stuffed crab."

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Uh oh... watch your back, Max! This... could be bad...**


	10. Catch Me If You Can

**Hello all! Here's the scene we've all been waiting for... Maximus vs Chef Louie!**

**TPATFan16: Again, sorry it took so long to review, but you also, 'like always' to quote you, did a great job! (;  
****MrAndersIversen: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy reading my stuff. Hope to be able to read some more of your work at some point. ;)  
****DreamGirll: Kind of like the frying pan and Eugene's statue having the nose wrong in my previous chapters... she just **_**had**_** to be wearing lavender and have her hair braided...  
****Solaria daughter of Apollo: Oh, believe me... this fight, is gonna be **_**good**_**!**

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Chapter 10 ~ Catch Me If You Can**

Maximus peeked his head out from behind a jar, and gasped upon seeing the head of the dreaded kitchen.

Chef Louie rummaged through a cupboard, singing in French to himself, "_Nouvelle cuisine. Les Champs-Elysées, Maurice Chevalier._"

Louie chuckled, and continued singing as he prepared the fish, "_Les poissons, les poissons, how I love les poissons! Love to chop and to serve little fish. First I cut off their heads, then I pull out their bones. Ah, mais oui ça c'est toujours delish. Les poissons, les poissons. Hee-hee-hee, haw-haw-haw. With a cleaver, I hack them in two. I pull out what's inside and I serve it up fried, 'cause I love little fishes! Don't you?_"

Maximus, who had heard each word and seen every action of the chef's song, desperately ran around the kitchen, trying to find a way out. Spotting a large lettuce leaf, Maximus grabbed the leaf and used it to cover himself as the chef continued singing, "_Here's something for tempting the palate... prepared in the classic technique... First you pound the fish flat with a mallet, then you slash through the skin, give the belly a slice. Then you rub some salt in, 'cause that makes it taste nice._"

Maximus's worst fear was confirmed when the cook reached out and grabbed the lettuce leaf, leaving him exposed. The small crab kept perfectly still as the chef gasped, "Zut alors! I have missed one!"

Louie picked up the 'dead' crab and continued singing, "_Sacrebleu! What is this? How on Earth could I miss such a sweet, little succulent crab? Quel domage, what a loss! Here we go! In the sauce. Now some flour, I think just a dab._"

Louie tossed Max into a bowl of sauce and threw a handful of flour in his face, before pulling him out and stuffing some filling in his shell, "_Now I'll stuff you with bread... It don't hurt, 'cause you're dead, and you're certainly lucky you are._"

Maximus pushed the filling out of his shell and let out a brief cough. Louie, who didn't notice that the crab in his hand was still alive, continued, "_'cause it's gonna be hot in my big silver pot. Toodle-oo, mon poisson, au revoir!_"

Louie threw Maximus across the room into a large pot of boiling water. Maximus yelped as he chucked himself out of the pot, and landed on a nearby bench with a loud thud.

Louie, hearing the 'thud', turned and walked over to the bench. He picked up the crab and carefully inspected it, "What is this?"

Max swiftly reached out his claws and snapped them shut around the chef's nose. Louie yelled out in pain as he dropped the crab. Maximus ended up on the handle of a pan on the stove. Louie reached for the crab, but instead put his hand on the fiery hot stove. The chef screamed and blew on his hand as the pan fell onto his foot. Louie grabbed his foot and cried in pain, before sending Max an angry glare, grabbing a bunch of knives and hurling them at the crab. Maximus, who ducked each knife, dove under a bench, and while the chef was looking under the bench, Max pushed the bowl of sauce off the bench and onto his head, before speeding away and hiding in a large shelf of plates and dishes. Louie screamed, holding his mallet in his hand, and leapt at the set of shelves.

* * *

Susanna, who was pouring drinks for the prince, Grimsby and their young guest, looked in the direction of the kitchen at the sound of a large crash. "Uh, I think I'd better go see what Louie is up to..."

Once she had excused herself, she hurriedly made her way to the palace kitchen.

-line-

Louie, ripped clothes and all, continued to turn the kitchen upside down in search off the crab.

"**COME OUT, YOU LITTLE PIPSQUEAK, AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!**" Louie screamed, before continuing to tear apart a cupboard.

"**LOUIE!**" Susanna yelled from the doorway. "What are you doing?"

"Uh... well, I was just, uh... I'm sorry, madame," Louie spluttered, before giving her an exaggerated grin.

Susanna groaned, picking up the plates - which all had a metal dome over the top - off a nearby bench, and storming out the kitchen.

* * *

"You know, Eugene..." Grimsby started, setting his glass back on the table as Susanna placed their dinners in front of them. "Perhaps our young guest might enjoy seeing some of the sights of the kingdom. Something in the way of a tour, perhaps..."

Eugene simply sat there, staring at Rapunzel with a lovestruck expression on his face. Realising that Grimsby had said something to him, he snapped out of his daze. Eugene let out a small chuckle and looked at Grimsby. "I'm sorry, Grim. What was that?"

Grimsby leaned over to the prince and whispered, "You can't just spend all your time moping about! You need to get out, do something, have a life. Get your mind off-"

While Grimsby talked, Rapunzel's eyes widened in horror as she saw him lift the metal dome off his plate to reveal none other than Maximus sitting in the middle of the plate. As the two gentlemen at the table were distracted, Rapunzel beckoned for the crab to come hide on her lap. Maximus didn't hesitate to scurry across the table and hop onto Rapunzel's lap.

"Easy, Grim, easy. It's not a bad idea, if she's interested," Eugene replied, before turning to look at the young brunette, who 'innocently' examined the 'patterns on her dress'. "Well, what do ya say?"

Rapunzel looked up and smiled at him as he continued, "Would you like to join me on a tour of my kingdom tomorrow?"

The brunette nodded eagerly, and Grimsby smiled, "Wonderful! Now, let's eat... before this crab wanders off my plate."

Grimsby looked down, and confusedly looked at the crab-less plate.

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Duurrrrrr... where'd it go? Nice move, 'Punzel! Please review!**


	11. Two Days Left

**Hello, my faithful readerers... Great to see that you're back for the next chapter! This is only going to be a short chapter, but I hope you enjoy it, nevertheless.**

**DreamGirll: Don't worry... after this, we get to one of the very best parts. And it wouldn't be Tangled if there aren't a few floating lights. ;)  
****MyNameIsAlexandraRider: I'm glad you liked it. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter!  
****TPATFan16: I've always liked the conflict between Sebastian and Louie. They're always good for a laugh.  
****Solaria daughter of Apollo: Glad you liked it! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Chapter 11 ~ Two Days Left**

Rapunzel smiled dreamily as she watched Eugene play with Flynn from her window.

Eugene knelt on the ground and the dog ran up to him, and leapt on him with enough strength to push him onto his back. Eugene growled playfully at the animal as it pinned him down. He looked up and smiled when he saw that the young brunette girl he'd found on the beach that day watching. He waved at her, and she waved back, before slipping further back into her room.

Eugene's eyes sparkled as his smile widened. He was actually really looking forward to taking her around his kingdom tomorrow, and could only hope that she felt the same way.

* * *

Rapunzel smiled as she brushed her hair with her fork.

"This has got to be, without a doubt, the _single_, most _humiliating_ day of my life. I hope you appreciate what I go through for you, young lady," Maximus grumbled.

Rapunzel placed her fork down on the table, before walking over to her bed. She crawled under the covers and nuzzled her head into the pillow, before giving Max a look that he knew meant 'thank you'.

Maximus chuckled, "Now, we got to come up with a plan to get that boy to kiss you. Tomorrow, when he takes you for that ride, you gotta look your best. You gotta bat your eyes and pucker up your lips, like this..."

Maximus batted his eyes and puckered up his lips, before realising that she was already fast asleep. Max shook his head, and blew out the candle on the bed side table. He hopped onto her pillow, and before falling asleep himself, he whispered, "You're hopeless, child. You know that? Completely hopeless..."

* * *

Meanwhile, looking out the window of a palace nestled among the restless waves, King Triton anxiously waited for news on Rapunzel's whereabouts.

Just then, Harold swam up behind him.

"Any sign of them?" Triton asked desperately.

"No, Your Majesty," Harold replied sadly. "We searched everywhere. We've found no trace of your daughter, or Maximus."

"Well keep looking. Leave no shell unturned, no coral unexplored. Let no one in this kingdom sleep until she's safe at home," Triton ordered, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Yes, sire," Harold bowed, before swimming off.

Triton slowly sat in his throne, "Oh, what have I done? What have I done?"

**.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.**

**Poor Triton... please review!**


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